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United States Patent |
5,161,390
|
Sam
|
November 10, 1992
|
Interchangeable and detachable earring assemblage
Abstract
There is disclosed a decorative interchangeable and detachable earring
assemblage comprising individual and separable earring units which can all
be of the same size and shape or of different sizes and shapes enabling
the earring units to be mixed or matched depending on the fashion mood of
the wearer.
Inventors:
|
Sam; Mina (671 Forest Ave., Paramus, NJ 07652)
|
Appl. No.:
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737773 |
Filed:
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July 30, 1991 |
Current U.S. Class: |
63/12; 63/13 |
Intern'l Class: |
A44L 007/00 |
Field of Search: |
63/12,13,14.1,29.1,1.1,2
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
292810 | Feb., 1884 | Hartmann | 63/12.
|
4086786 | May., 1978 | Ritter | 63/13.
|
4725511 | Feb., 1988 | Reber | 63/12.
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4763489 | Aug., 1988 | Strong | 63/13.
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4783974 | Nov., 1988 | Hernandez | 63/12.
|
4803852 | Feb., 1989 | Waldron | 63/13.
|
4869078 | Sep., 1989 | Leith | 63/13.
|
Foreign Patent Documents |
812568 | Apr., 1959 | GB | 63/2.
|
859188 | Jan., 1961 | GB | 63/29.
|
Other References
Jeweller' Circular-Keystone p. 91 Aug. 1989.
|
Primary Examiner: Luebke; Renee S.
Assistant Examiner: Saether; F.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An interchangeable and detachable earring assemblage comprising:
a plurality of individual and separable earring units, each of said earring
units having at least one removable, active attachment means associated
therewith and at least one passive aperture attachment means formed
integrally within the perimeter of each of said units such that an active
attachment means in a first of said units is secured to and carried by a
passive attachment means in the same unit and a second active attachment
means can be threaded through and carried by the passive attachment means
of another of said units simultaneously threaded through a passive
attachment means of said first unit enabling a plurality of said earring
units to be interconnected to form said earring assemblage.
2. The earring assemblage of claim 1 wherein said removable, active
attachment means is an earring post capable of being received by a pierced
ear lobe.
3. The earring assemblage of claim 1 wherein said removable, active
attachment means is an earring hook capable of being received by a pierced
ear lobe.
4. The earring assemblage of claim 1 wherein said active attachment means
is a spring clip unit capable of being secured to an unpierced ear lobe.
5. The earring assemblage of claim 1 wherein said passive attachment means
comprises a plurality of apertures integrally formed and contained within
the perimeter of each of said earring units.
6. The earring assemblage of claim 5 wherein at least one of said passive
attachment means is positioned diametrically opposite to said active
attachment means.
7. An interchangeable and detachable earring assemblage comprising:
a plurality of individual and separable earring units, each of said earring
units having at least one removable, active attachment means associated
therewith and passive attachment means comprising a plurality of apertures
integrally formed and contained within the perimeter of each of said
earring units, at least one of said passive attachment means being
positioned diametrically opposite to said active attachment means such
that one of said active attachment means in a first of said units is
secured to and carried by a passive attachment means in the same unit and
a second active attachment means can be threaded through and carried by
the passive attachment means of another of said units simultaneously
threaded through a passive attachment means of said first unit enabling a
plurality of said earring units to be interconnected to form said earring
assemblage.
8. The earring assemblage of claim 7 wherein said removable, active
attachment means is an earring post capable of being received by a pierced
ear lobe.
9. The earring assemblage of claim 7 wherein said removable, active
attachment means is an earring hook capable of being received by a pierced
ear lobe.
10. The earring assemblage of claim 7 wherein said active attachment means
is a spring clip unit capable of being secured to an unpierced ear lobe.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed toward an interchangeable and detachable earring
assemblage comprising individual and separable earring units which can all
be of the same size and shape or of different sizes and shapes enabling
the earring units to be mixed or matched depending on the fashion mood of
the wearer.
The interchangeable and detachable earring assemblage of the invention is
of the type generally referred to as modular jewelry. Typically, such
modular jewelry comprises elements of various shapes, sizes and
configurations which permits the user to pre-select desired elements for
wear. In addition to being aesthetic and functional, such elements should
also be easy to assemble and comfortable to wear.
Prior attempts to provide modular jewelry, particularly modular earring
units, have been limiting in that the wearer has been confined to
assembling elements that are either all of the same shape, size and
configuration, or are difficult to assemble, or are uncomfortable to wear.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The interchangeable and detachable earring assemblage of the invention
generally comprises individual and separable earring units each of which
has a removable, active attachment means and at least one passive
attachment means formed integrally within the perimeters of the units such
that the active attachment means in one unit can be secured to and carried
by a passive attachment means in the same unit and a second active
attachment means can be threaded through and carried by a passive
attachment means in another of said units enabling a plurality of said
earring units to be interconnected to form said earring assemblage.
The removable, active attachment means employed can be of the type
conventionally used to attach earrings to the ear lobe of a wearer such as
an earring post or an earring hook where the ear lobe of the wearer has
been pierced to accept such attachment means.
The passive attachment means comprises at least one aperture integrally
formed within the perimeter of the earring units and sized to receive an
active attachment means therethrough. When two passive attachment
apertures are provided, they are preferably positioned diametrically
opposite one another so that a removable, active attachment means can be
threaded through and carried by each of the passive attachment means.
In assembly, a removable, active attachment means (e.g., an earring post or
an earring hook) is secured to and carried by a passive attachment
aperture means and this active attachment means can then be later affixed
to the pierced ear lobe of the wearer. A second removable, active
attachment means is then threaded through and carried by another passive
attachment aperture in the same earring unit and also threaded through and
secured to a passive attachment aperture in another earring unit to thus
interconnect two or more earring units to each other. In this way, the
wearer can assemble as many earring units together as desired.
Where a wearer does not have pierced ear lobes, the initial earring unit to
be secured to the wearer's ear lobe can be provided with conventional
clip-on attachment means while the remaining earring units are provided
with the active attachment means and the passive attachment apertures
described above.
The individual and detachable earring units that can be employed can be of
any size and of any shape such as square, rectangular, triangular, oblong,
circular, diamond, and the like, as well as free-form configurations.
Where one or more of the earring units is of a free-form configuration, a
plurality of passive attachment apertures are preferably integrally formed
within the perimeters of the free-form units to offer the wearer a greater
assemblage selection.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The detachable and interchangeable jewelry earring assemblage of the
invention will become more apparent from the ensuing description when
considered together with the accompanying drawing wherein like reference
numerals denote like parts and wherein:
FIG. 1 is an elevation view illustrating one type of decorative earring
unit of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a view taken substantially on line 2--2 of FIG. 1 illustrating a
post type attachment means that can be used with the decorative earring
units of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2 illustrating a clip-on
attachment means that can be used for securing the decorative earring
units of the invention to non-pierced ear lobes;
FIG. 4 is also a view similar to that of FIG. 2 illustrating a hook type
attachment means that can be used with the decorative earring units of the
invention;
FIG. 5 is a front elevation view illustrating an earring assemblage of the
invention using post type attachment means to interconnect a plurality of
earring units to one another;
FIG. 6 is a front elevation view illustrating another earring assemblage of
the invention where the detachable earring units are of a different size
and shape; and,
FIG. 7 is a side elevation view illustrating a plurality of decorative
earring units of the invention interconnected to each other using a
combination of hook/post type attachment means.
Turning now to the drawing, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 one embodiment
of a decorative, detachable earring unit of the invention 10 having a
diamond shaped configuration which is provided with a removable, active
attachment means 11 and which contains a plurality of passive attachment
means 12. The active attachment means 11 comprises a post 13 and mating
back piece 14 which are used to secure earring unit 10 to a pierced ear
lobe, indicated by reference numeral 15, in a typical manner. Passive
attachment means 12 comprise a plurality of apertures formed in and
contained within the perimeter of the earring unit 10. Passive attachment
means 12 serve to receive the removable, active attachment means and are
positioned within the perimeter of earring unit 10 in spaced apart
relationship to each other. In the embodiments illustrated, a plurality of
passive attachment means 12 are shown, but at least two such means should
be provided in each earring unit and are preferably positioned
diametrically opposite to each other.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the removable, active attachment means
comprises a typical earring hook 16, one end portion of which is threaded
through a passive attachment means 12 while the other end is carried by a
pierced ear lobe 15.
For those persons who do not have pierced ear lobes, an earring unit 10 can
be equipped with a typical spring clip 17 as shown in FIG. 3 to secure the
initial earring unit to an unpierced ear lobe 18. Additional earring units
10 can then be secured to this initial earring unit to create an earring
assemblage as desired by the wearer.
To assemble the earring units 10, the removable, active attachment means of
one earring unit is threaded through and carried by the passive attachment
means of another earring unit as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7. As shown in
FIG. 5, post 13 and back piece 14 (not visible) are used to interconnect
earring units 10 to form an earring assemblage whereas in FIG. 7, an
earring hook 16 is employed to attach the initial earring unit 10a to a
pierced ear lobe 15 while posts 13 and back pieces 14 are used to
interconnect a plurality of earring units 10b, 10c, to create an earring
assemblage.
Where desired, earring units having different geometric configurations can
be joined together, such as by using earring posts 13 and back pieces as
illustrated in FIG. 6; to create an earring assemblage reflecting the
fashion mood of the wearer.
While the earring assemblage of the invention has been described in some
detail and with particularity, it should be understood that changes and
modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the
invention recited in the claims.
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